The present invention relates to a line head and an image forming apparatus.
A line head has been used as a device which is incorporated into an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine or a printer, to form (expose) an electrostatic latent image on the surface of a photoconductor. The line head includes a plurality of light-emitting elements one-dimensionally arrayed on a substrate, and drives the respective light-emitting elements through wiring lines patterned on the substrate. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) or organic electroluminescent (EL) light-emitting elements have been employed as the light-emitting elements of the line head. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-274569 discloses a light-emitting element array corresponding to the line head and an image forming apparatus.
However, in a light-emitting element panel used for the line head, data lines and control signal lines are generally provided along the arrayed direction of light-emitting elements. Since wiring lines of the line head have, for example, lengths of several tens of centimeters, it is necessary to stabilize the power. In particular, in a case in which organic EL light-emitting elements are used as light-emitting elements, a large amount of current is needed as compared to a case in which LEDs are used as light-emitting elements. As a result, since the wiring lines become thick, it is necessary to improve stabilization of the power.